About me

Hi, I’m . I’m a business leader, recovering journalist, internet denizen, storyteller, game designer, writer and news junkie. I currently work at Audible in the international expansion team, growing the business to new locations. I previously worked at the BBC in the TV & Radio technology team that builds iPlayer and BBC Sounds, improving the way we worked together, developing leadership, delivering on culture change and a few other projects.

I’m also a founder of Rowan, Rook and Decard, a tabletop game design studio with four successful Kickstarters under our belts. We publish Spire, Goblin Quest and Unbound, as well as dozens of free RPGs like Honey Heist and Jason Statham’s Big Vacation, and small works including One Last Job and Royal Blood. As CEO, I ran product management, delivery, finance, partnerships and marketing, as well as contributing creatively.

I used to work at the Guardian as executive editor for audience, overseeing how the Guardian’s journalism reaches new audiences, how our data strategy impacted our newsgathering and technology approaches, how we became part of people’s daily lives, and how we put them at the heart of our work. Previously I led audience development and engagement in the Guardian’s New York office, and before that I was part of the Guardian’s Australian launch team, where we doubled web traffic in a year. Once upon a time I was a local reporter.

I write here occasionally about news media, the internet, games, politics, and all manner of other things. The blog also hosts my Twine games, Detritus and ibis, fly!

I used to be a partner in Serious Business, and I ran the UK’s first bespoke portable zombie apocalpypse in the form of Zombie LARP. We headlined the Fresh Air festival in Melbourne and worked with 20th Century Fox and the Science Museum in London, among others, to make live game experiences with three to 1,500 players.

If you’d like to work with me on a project or if you’re interested in consulting or writing work, please get in touch. You can reach me on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, or you can drop me an email at newsmary at gmail dot com.

Nice to meet you. Let’s build stories.